Chapter 39
Staring out the window, I squinted to try to see if I could make out Malcolm in the dark. So many things could have happened to him; things I don't even want to give a second thought. Ezra was driving down Main Street, using the route that we know Malcolm uses to get to the park…, oh god, but what if there's another route he takes that we don't know about? Seeing a figure, I opened my mouth and realized it was just a small tree.
"Where the hell is he?" Ezra asked.
"Is it possible there's another way he gets to the park?" I questioned.
"No, he knows he isn't allowed to take different routes without one of us knowing about it." He reminded me.
"It was just Brian he said right?" I asked, he nodded and I quickly called Nancy.
"Calling Brian's parents?" Ezra asked and I nodded as Brian's mom answered.
"I am sorry for calling this late, by any chance is Malcolm there? No? Okay thank you Nancy." I said and hung up
"Not there, but she said that Brian did have to come home earlier than his curfew." I said.
"Stop the car!" I exclaimed as Ezra was already breaking.
"I saw him too." He said as we got out of the car.
"Malcolm Fitz!" We exclaimed.
"Do you have any idea what time it is?" Ezra asked.
"Nope." Malcolm said angrily, not looking at either of us and kicked his ball.
"Why didn't you answer my texts or moms calls?" Ezra questioned.
"Phone died." He stated, kicking the ball into the fence again
"Car now young man." I told him
He grabbed his ball before walking towards the car. I silently sighed of relief as I shared a look with Ezra and knew he was doing the same thing. There were so many possibilities that could have happened tonight, but I'm just glad he's alright. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I quickly called my dad as Ezra started driving. I glanced in the rear view mirror to see that Malcolm was just sitting in the back, pouting as he stared out the window.
"We found him. No, not yet. Thanks dad, love you too, bye." I said, hanging up.
"Give me your phone Malcolm." Ezra said, reaching his hand back.
…..
Malcolm and I followed Ezra into the house, none of us have said anything since the soccer park. So, whatever he's upset about… we're about to find out. Hardy was at the kitchen table, eating a bowl of ice cream. He looked up and looked relieved when he saw Malcolm was with us. God, I would have done anything to find Malcolm sooner.
"Hi uncle Hardy." Malcolm said quietly.
"Hey kid, glad you're home. Oliver is still asleep and I'll bring the bowl and spoon back tomorrow." Hardy said, hurrying out.
"You didn't just have me and dad worried, grandpa also went out looking for you. And Toby was about to as well and you know he would've had multiple squad cars looking!" I told Malcolm, getting to the point.
"We didn't even know if you were okay." Ezra added.
"Do I look okay to either of you? Because I'm not!" Malcolm shouted before storming towards the stairs.
"Maggie's a stupid bitch." We heard Malcolm mutter.
"Come back here." Ezra said.
"We heard that, who's Maggie?" He asked.
"Your high school girlfriend, who else?" Malcolm snapped.
"Malcolm Jeremy Fitz, you can drop your attitude now." I told him.
"What are you talking about? What does Maggie have to do with any of this?" Ezra questioned as I figured it out.
"Has she contacted you Malcolm?" I asked.
He handed us his phone and we saw how he had a social media profile. One that I know he had not asked me or Ezra for, but that's the least of my worries right now. The chat was definitely from Maggie, except she has a new last name; Smith. Either she got married or she just changed it so we couldn't be able to find her. How dare this woman text MY son after abandoning him the way she had! Nothing for three to four years and all of a sudden, she wants to see him? She better have a damn good reason for everything.
'Hi sweetheart, it's mom! I know it's been a little while since you saw me last. But here's my new number, I would love to see you.'
"This woman has some nerve." I said.
"Is this why you didn't come home?" I asked and Malcolm nodded.
"Why do you have this profile? You're not thirteen nor did you ask me or mom for one." Ezra pointed out.
"Me, Brian and the other guys have one so we can all talk to each other online." Malcolm explained and I shared a look with Ezra
"Malcolm, would you want to see her?" I asked.
"I knew you two would get sick of me one day!" He exclaimed.
He ran up the stairs and we stared after him. Ever since Maggie left, he's been afraid that we wouldn't want him either. I wish I could get him to believe that we're never going to give him up. Especially back to Maggie if she tried. Without saying another word, Ezra stood up and I followed suit. As he went to go after Malcolm, I rested a hand on his shoulder.
"We should give him a bit to cool off, this is a lot for him. Especially with Maggie being the reason for all of it." I said as we heard him close his door.
"I thought he knew better than to do something behind our backs like this." Ezra said.
"He's twelve and in middle school babe. We're literally on the edge to his teen years…. it's probably going to get worse than tonight." I pointed out.
"A lot of kids his age do have one." I pointed out
"I know, but he didn't know whether or not we would say yes." Ezra said.
"And here I thought he would be our easy kid." I joked as he sat down next to me.
"Maybe we should look into a way to keep her away from him. She left without legally giving up her rights." Ezra said.
"Ez, he was seven when she left. There's a chance that he may want to see Maggie, even just for closure and he should be able to make that choice. If he could get a profile behind our backs, he could end up seeing her behind our backs as well." I told him.
"And who knows what could happen if he saw her behind our backs. It's better that we know about it." I added.
"You're right. But if he did want to see her, someone would have to be with them." Ezra said.
"Did you honestly think that either of us would actually ever let her be alone with him?" I questioned.
"I should go talk to him." Ezra said standing up.
"Probably better if I go talk to him." I said, placing a hand on his arm.
Walking up the stairs, I quickly made my way to the boys room and gently knocked on the door. There was no response, I started to silently count to three and opened the door. At least Ezra and I both know there's no way for him to sneak out of any of the bedrooms if he ever wanted to. Opening the door, I poked my head into to see Malcolm reading one of his sport magazines and Oliver still fast asleep.
"Hey, why don't you and I just talk." I suggested.
"What? You and dad wanna get rid of me tonight?" Malcolm asked, as I sat down next to him.
"Scoot over. I've told you before and I'll say it over and over; We are not ever going to give you back to her nor will we ever want to." I reminded him.
"Honey, I know that you didn't get closure when she left or anything. But would seeing her be something you might want?" I asked and his eyes went wide.
"No! She left and is making it seem like she has only been gone like a month. You're my mom, not her!"
"Malcolm honey, if you wanted to see her that would not change the fact that I'm your mom. We have the legal papers to prove it." I reminded him.
"But what if she tries to fight?" He asked worriedly.
"She can try all she wants, I'd fight blood and tooth for you. Besides, I don't think her leaving you illegally will help her at all." I reassured him.
"Why should I see her? She just up and left, now I have to give her what she wants?
"The only way we would let her anywhere near you is if someone was with you. Also more importantly, if it's what you want. We're not going to force you to see her if you don't want to, nor are we going to force you to not see her." I said, not receiving a response.
"Now, Dad and I understand why you stayed out past your curfew. But even though we get it, you're still going to be means grounded for two weeks, and your phone gets taken away for that time." I told him.
"But what if Brian, Dani, Tyler, and Luke decide they don't want to be my friends anymore because I'm grounded?" He asked.
"I promise that they aren't just going to stop being friends with you because you got in trouble. But if they do, then they were never really your friends." I told him.
"Can I keep my profile?" He asked.
"Dad and I will discuss that. Make sure you brush your teeth before you go to bed and don't stay up too late." I told him
Walking out of the room, I saw Ezra coming out from our room. I closed the door and he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. Of all the things that could have happened, it was Maggie coming out of thin air. Did she seriously think that Ezra and I wouldn't find out about this? She abandoned Malcolm and any right to call herself his mother.
"Well, I no longer have a headache." I said as he led me into our room.
…
Next day
I got off the phone with Hanna as Ezra walked into the kitchen. We have our therapy appointment and no one is able to babysit; Hardy and Caitlyn are going on a date, Toby's taking care of Spencer and Alex who both don't feel well, mom and dad went to visit granny and Mike went with. There's Emily and Maya, but they're already under stress with Darius and Aaliyah. Hanna said she would but Travis had wanted to leave for Connecticut early, they're already out of Pennsylvania.
"Any luck on your side?" Ezra asked and I shook my head.
"Nope." I said.
"I can watch Ollie." Malcolm said, walking into the kitchen.
"It's a big responsibility honey." I responded.
"You guys said that about Fish and I take good care of him." Malcolm pointed out.
"With your brother, it's a lot different. Especially that he doesn't go outside if he has to go." Ezra told him.
"But I've babysat before. Plus, I'm twelve, I'm practically old enough to drive." Malcolm tried and Ezra bursted out laughing
"Four more years, babes." I reminded him, holding back my own laughter.
"Are you sure you can handle it?" Ezra asked, gaining his composure
"Yeah! If anything, I can just sit him in front of Frozen or Barney." Malcolm said as I shared a look with Ezra.
"Okay, then." Ezra said.
"If you can get Oliver to take a bath after dinner... I'll give you fifteen bucks." I told Malcolm.
"What? Oliver's been difficult at bathtime and he all but rolled in the dirt today." I pointed out when I saw Ezra looking at me.
"I thought it was just me he was being difficult with." Ezra chuckled.
"We'll leave my phone for you in case of an emergency." He added, looking at Malcolm.
"We should only be gone an hour, hour and a half at the most." I told Malcolm.
…..
Neither of us said anything as we got into the car, I can feel Ezra watching me concerned. I all but ran out in tears at the end, the appointment went from our relationship to my relationships with Scott and Byron and the possibility that I may have a fear of being abandoned by Ezra. It was one thing to talk about our past, but it was more painful to talk about my relationship with Byron and Scott. Especially since the reason I had tried to push Ezra away junior year was because I was afraid of the baby going through what I did with Byron.
"Do you wanna talk about it?" Ezra asked, starting the car.
"I don't wanna talk; I just did enough talking." I said, staring out the window.
"Are you hungry?" He asked.
"Not really." I responded.
He didn't say anything as he pulled away from the curb. I am a bit hungry, but I don't really feel like eating. Mostly because I know that he'll try to get me to talk about it. His hand found mine, I slipped my fingers between his as he caressed my hand with his thumb. Staring out the window, I saw him pull into a fast food drive through.
"Can I get two orders of curly cheese fries and two large cokes?" Ezra ordered for us.
"We both know you're hungry, even though you tried convincing me you weren't." He said, looking at me.
"How are you so sure I'm hungry?" I asked.
"I know you better than you think… and I can hear your stomach." He added.
"Plus, remember the last time I ate in front of you when you were pregnant with Oliver? You cried even though you were adamant that you weren't hungry." He reminded me.
I went back to staring out the window. Of course he knew I was hungry, he always does even when I'm not pregnant and eating everything in sight. He pulled into a free spot of a strip mall parking lot. Surprisingly, there are only a few cars. Killing the engine, Ezra opened the bag and handed me one of the cheese fries and a fork. I didn't say anything as I took a sip of my coke.
"Thank you." I said.
"Anytime. I wasn't going to starve you." He said, giving me a small smile.
"What if I am like Byron?" I asked, picking around at my fries.
"You are nothing like him. There are so many differences between you and him. But I can tell you this, you'd never do what he did." He told me and I raised an eyebrow at him.
"Okay, you'd never do the other thing that he did. Aria baby, you'd kill for the kids… you would never leave them." He said.
Picking around at my fries some more, I felt Ezra tuck some of my hair behind my ear. He cupped my face, gently tilting me to look at him. As our eyes met, he rested his forehead against mine. He brushed his lips against my nose. All of a sudden, he pulled away and held up a cheese fry to my mouth. I lovingly rolled my eyes before eating it and he pressed his lips to my forehead.
